Chelsea Handler calls Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe racists over Kevin Hart roast jokes

• Chelsea Handler called Gillis and Hinchcliffe racists, bigots and sexists on a podcast this week
• Handler said a joke about lynching Kevin Hart was "worse than rape" and not acceptable comedy
• Gillis responded by dismissing Handler's comments as a career move and plugging his own show
  

Chelsea Handler has made pointed remarks about fellow comedians Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe following their controversial performances at Kevin Hart's recent roast.

"I knew enough about Tony and Shane — they're racists, they're bigots, they're sexist," the Chelsea Handler Show star said during Wednesday's episode of the Den Cole's Funny Knowing You podcast.

'Lynching Black people is not a joke'

Handler, 51, took particular issue with a joke made by Gillis during the roast earlier this month, in which he poked fun at Hart's height by saying the 46-year-old is so short "they're gonna have to lynch him from a bonsai tree."

"I don't find those jokes funny," Handler said, before adding: "Lynching Black people is not a joke. It's worse than rape."

The author also addressed a joke made by Hinchcliffe about the death of Sheryl Underwood's late husband, Michael Sparkman, who died by suicide in 1990.

Notably, Underwood herself recently appeared on Gillis' Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast on the same day, defending the jokes and saying that "Sometimes humor is the thing."

Handler maintained that Hart "deserved" an "elevated roast," and that at a roast, comedians can "go for it without being gross."

"There was so much disgustingness, I knew it was gonna be a gross vibe," she said.

Gillis fires back

A representative for Hinchcliffe did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment. Gillis, however, responded through a representative with a dismissive retort.

"This is a big moment for Chelsea. I am glad she's capitalizing. Good for her. We're all rooting for her. Anyway come see me July 17th at the football stadium in Philly," Gillis said.

Handler was also targeted at the roast

Handler herself appeared as a roaster at the event, where she was introduced by Gillis with equally sharp remarks — including a reference to her attendance at a 2010 event hosted by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as jibes directed at her political views.

Gillis subsequently described his cutting remarks as "fun." Handler, for her part, addressed her presence at Epstein's gathering in a 2021 interview with Rob Lowe, saying the dinner was "awkward" and that she "didn't know who" the disgraced financier was at the time.

Michael Che also weighs in

Handler is not alone in voicing criticism of the roast, which is currently available to stream on Netflix. Saturday Night Live star Michael Che, 43, was originally scheduled to appear at the event but was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts with NBC's sketch comedy programme, sources told Variety.

Two days after the roast, Che took to Instagram — in a post that has since been deleted — to critique the jokes delivered by Hinchcliffe and Gillis.

"White guys and black people joke different," he wrote. "Black guys roast like, 'look at this n–a shoes!' white roasts are like, 'slavery, math, slain teens, sex crimes, slurs, family secrets.'"

He added: "white guys dont give a f–k about they shoes."

In a separate, since-deleted post, the Emmy-nominated writer aimed at the white writers hired to craft jokes for comedians at the live event.

"'Lets do a roast celebrating the career of the most successful black comic in the last 10 years,'" he wrote. "'I love that! who should we get to write it?'"

In a further slide, Che shared a photograph of five members of Gillis' writing team — all white men — captioning it: "Cmonnnnnnnnn… thats not funny?"